Re: [GBlist] Setback Thermostats

["Dr. C.F. Vasile" <gfx-ch@msn.com>]

This article should be of interest on this topic: "An Unexpected Setback
for Programmable Thermostats" (Energy Design Update, November 2000).

In view of the diverse opinions expressed on this Forum, the following
half-dozen excerpts (##1-6) are rather sobering -- given that space heating
is the largest energy user in millions of older homes after water heating;
vice-versa in modern "tight" homes.

1.    "For 20 years, programmable thermostats have been one of the most
popular energy-saving devices on the market. Energy conservation
specialists, utility managers, HVAC contractors, and government energy
officials have strongly promoted their use, sometimes as the centerpiece
technology in large ratepayer- or taxpayer-funded conservation programs."

2.    "But new field studies from Wisconsin and Florida suggest that
programmable thermostats aren't the prodigious energy-savers we've been led
to to believe and may in some situations ACTUALLY INCREASE ENERGY USE."
(emphasis mine)

3.    "In any case, people certainly aren't saving 15% or more that's been
touted over the years"

4.    "Within our project, we had 19 homes with programmable thermostats
that showed evidence of increased consumption and peak demand"

5.    "This is just the opposite of what the HERS rating and Energy Star
Home Program now estimate."

6.    "Before we did this study, I was sold on programmable
thermostats", says researcher Monica Nevius with the Energy Center of
Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin). It was a shock to me when we discovered
that they have virtually NO EFFECT ON ENERGY SAVINGS." (emphasis mine)

Would you or anyone else on this Forum venture a guess if Ms. Nevius, a
sociologist, was more shocked to learn that:
    (a) energy conservation specialists, HERS & Energy Star program
managers, utility managers, HVAC contractors, and government energy
officials would mislead consumers by promoting devices that don't save
energy, thereby actually promoting waste by diverting money better spent on
more effective energy savers
OR
    (b) programmable thermostats don't work well in homes having
over-powered space-heating or combi systems that can exhibit large cycling-
& stack-losses when large stebacks are programmed and/or programs are
frequently overridden by baby-boomers having hot-flashes?

=====================================================
Dr. Carmine F. Vasile, Ph.D. Electrophysics
WaterFilm Energy Inc.; P.O. Box 128; Medford, NY 11763
Voice: 631-758-6271 [Fax: 631-758-0438]
Email: gfx-ch@msn.com Web: http://oikos.com/gfx/
=====================================================


----- Original Message -----
From: "Sarah Holland/David Foley" <hollandfoley@acadia.net>
To: "Greenbuilding" <greenbuilding@crest.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2002 7:47 AM
Subject: [GBlist] Setback Thermostats


> These articles may be of interest on this topic:
>
> www.eren.doe.gov/erec/factsheets/thermo.html
>
> www.energy.ca.gov/releases/1999_releases/features/1999-feature-08.html
>
> www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/consumer_information/airroom/roomlower.html
>
> www.homeenergy.org/archive/hem.dis.anl.gov/eehem/94/940702.html
>
> www.energy.state.md.us/MEA/ALL-ABOU/THERMOST.HTM
>
> www.bpa.gov/Energy/N/energy_home/pic/thermo_aug99.shtml
> --
> Holland & Foley Building Design L.L.C.
> 232 Beech Hill Rd.
> Northport, Maine 04849 USA
> p: (207) 338-9869 f: (207) 338-9859 e: hollandfoley@acadia.net
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
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>












______________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by REPP/CREST, creator of
Solstice http://www.crest.org, and BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of
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